Stacker.



D- M. GRAHAM. STAOKER.

APPLICATION FILED DEO.19, 1912.

. 1,104,885 Patented July 28,1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

'Invehtor 1). M. GRAHAM.

STAOKER. APPLICATION 111L111) DBG.19, 1912.

Patented July 28, 1914-.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Attorneys.

-D. M. GRAHAM.

STAOKER APPLICATION FILED D110. 19, 1912.

M w Q 8 m mmw N 2 H m WM um WI M V 7 LM h! 1 H1 D1 NW o v M gm NM; 1 N%\ n NW Witnesses Attorneys.

D. Mi GRAHAM.

7 STAOKER. APPLIOATION FILED 153mm; 1912.

Patented Jul 23, 1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

Inventor,

Attorneys.

stack for the purpose of affording tion of the UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID M. Lemma, or BORDULAC, NORTH DAKOTA, ASSIGNOR or ONE-HALF To n. A. ROACH, or soRDuLAc, NORTH DAKOTA.

ST CKER.

7 '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID MaGRAHAM,

a' citizen of the United States, residing at Bordulac, in the county of Foster and State of North Dakota, have invented a new and useful Stacker, of which the follo'wihg is a specificatiolu This inventionrelatesto machines for stacking grain, one of its objects being to provide amachine of this character adapted to travel alongside of a harvester and to receive the cut grain therefrom, means being provided whereby the grain, after it has aocumulated to form a stack of desired bulk, can be deposited on the ground A further object is to provide means whereby an opening may be left under the ventilaam. Another 0 ject is to provide means wherebythe accumulated grain can be deposited on the ground in a stackythe said stack being left intact, the stack forming being so shaped as to withdraw easily from the deposited stack. v

Another object is to provide a machine of this character which is simple in construction and which is at all times under the control of a single operator.

Heretofore, in vharvesting grain, it has been customary to utilize binding mechanism at one side of the harvester, this mech anism gathering the grain into bundles and tying it, the bundles being subsequently thrown to the ground. 7 i The present invention has for its objectto eliminate the binder and consequently save theic ost'of the twine commonly employed and which is an expensive item in the har-.

vesting of'grain', it being possible, by the use of the present machine, to readily collect the means Specification of Letters Patent. P t nt J ly 23, 1914 Application filed December 19, 1912. seriaiiio. 737,743.

In the accompanying drawings the pre ferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawingsFigure 1 is a side clevatlon of the machine. Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof, the same being shown coupled to a portion of a .harvesting'machine, the roller protecting material being removed for the purpose-of clearness. Fig. 3 is-a section on line AB Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a section on line '.CD Fig. 1.j Fig. 5 is alongitudinal section through the machine, the parts being shown in stack releasing position.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates the side beams of a wheel supported main structure, the supporting wheels being indicated at 2. These beams are connected, near their front ends,

by a platform 3 in which is formed a slot 4.

A shaft.5 is mounted for rotation above the front portion of the main frame and is provided with an upwardly extending elongated intermediate arm 6 while additional shorter arms 7 are mounted upon the end portions of the shaft. A tooth 8 orother suitable projection is formed on the shaft 5 and is normally enga ed by a dog 9 which may be in the form of a foot'actuated lever. Thus it will be seen that the tooth and dog I cooperate to hold the shaft normally against upon the cross beam 11' above and back of the, guide roller 12' 'Extending upwardly from the rear end portions of the side beams -1 are additional standards 14 connected at theirup'pertends by a cross beam 15 on which f is arranged apost 16 carrying a sheave 17. It isto beunderstoodof'course that instead of providing standards 10 and 14- on which cross 'beamsare mounted, each pair of standards and the cross beam thereon can be formed integral or, in other words, can be made in the form of an arch bridgingthe space between .tlfi' sides of the main frame. v

A draft tongue 18 can be connected in any suitable manner to the front end of the main frame and arms 19 may be extended laterally from'one of the side beams so. as to be engaged by coupling links 20. adapted to be ter structure, a portion of which has been shown at E.

Secured to the standards 10 and 14 near their lower ends, are side strips 21 which are spaced from but parallel with the beams 1. Additional connecting means, suchas rods 22, may be arranged along the sides of'the machine, these rods being attached at their ends to the standards 10 and 14. Q

Secured to the outer sidesof the beams 1 and side strips ,21 areelongated guide straps" or the likeindicated at 23, these straps being arranged pairs, one -pair being located adjacent'the rear end of each side of the adjacent the rear portion of each side .ofthe platform 3. The guides of each pair are disposed one directly above theother and each pair, of guides is adaptedtoreceive a guide arm 24 extending upwardly from one side of a runner .Two of these runners are used and the same are extended longitudinally under the side beam's 1 and have their upper faces connected preferably 'by 'means of a sheet metal floor 2 6 forming the base of the grain rack. Any other smtable conne'ctionscan also be providedbetween the runners and below the sheet'metal floor 26," these connections being in the form of boards 27 or the like, arranged between the runners' The front end portion of the rack is extended under the platform 3 and has a central arm 28 extending upwardly therefrom and loosely through the 'slot4 in the platform. A chain, cable, or other suitable flexible element 28 is securedat one end to this arm 28 and at its other end to the front end of the main frame, this connection being. indicated at 29. The said connection is normally slack and the arm 28- is normally'pd' 'tioned within the front endiportion of the slot '4. A pair of guide sheaves 30 and 31 iscarriedby each of the front standards 10 and one of these sheaves, v30, is engaged by a chain, cable or other suitable flexible element indicated at 32, one end of this element being attached to one of the end arms 7 while the other end of said element is attached to the front end portion of the adjacent runner 25. Additional flexible elements 33 are attached to the arms 7 and extend over the strips 21.

sheaves 31 and rearwardly over sheaves 34 carried by the standards 14.; From these sheaves 34 the said flexible elements 33 extenddownwardly to the rear end portions of the runners 25. These flexible elements 32 and 33 are of such length as to hold the runners tightly against the lower faces of 1 the side beams 1 when the'ai ms 7 are lockedin their forward position by dog 9 engaging the to'oth 8. Coiled springs 35 extend up wardlfy irom'the front en portions of t e runners 25 and are attached to the side Posts 36 extend the rats main frame and another pair being located been found desira end portions of the runners 25 and back of the side beams 11 and are connected by a top beam 37 from which extends anupwardly and rearwardly inclined arm 38. This arm carries a guide sheave 39. Suitable braces 40' may connect the upper end portions of the posts 36 to the sides of the runners 25.

Agate 41 is hingedly connected to the top beam 37 and is held normally shut against the posts 36 by coiled springs 42, these springs. being attached preferably to the braces 40. A cable, chain, or other suitable flexible "element, indicated at 43 is attached at one endto the gate 41 near. the bottom of the gate and this element extends upwardly to the guide sheave 39, thence forwardly over thesheave l7 and longitudinally of the machine to the sheave 13. From this sheave the flexible element 43 is extended downwardly in front of the roller 12 and is secured to the upper end of the elongated intermediate arm 6. This arm is normally extended upwardly towardthe roller and, when it is thus positioned, the-springs 42 hold the gate 41 closed against the posts 36.

between and close to the side-beams 1 are stanchions 44 to the inner sides of which are attached the sidewalls 45 of the rack, these side walls being preferably formed of sheet metal and being also secured, at their rear ends,.to-the inner sides of-the posts 36. The said side walls diverge rearwardl and are perpendicular tothe floor 26. xtending' rea'rw'ardly from the rearedgeof floor 26 are spring rods 46, these reds projecting rear-- wardly a short distance beyond the bottom of the gate 41 when said gate isinclosed position.

Secured along the and extending lupwardly therefrom, is a longitudinally extending member 47 which is V-shaped in cross section and gradually decreases in cross sectional area' from its front to its rear end, said member bein extended throughout thelength of the fioor .26 and up to the plane occupied bythe gate when it is closed. The saidmember 47 does center of the. floor 26- not contact with the'rods 46 thereunder but is spacedtherefrom so as not to interfere with the flexing of the rods during the dumping operation hereinafter describedfl This member 47 constitutes means for forming an air space within a stack which has i been deposited on th ground. Somej grain requires the formation ofa larger air space than does other grain. It has therefore le to combine with the member 47 a supplemental removable mem ber 48. which extends longitudinally of and straddles the member 47. When a'large air space is to be formed, this supplemental member 48 is left in" position on the floor 26 and. astride the 'member47. "When, howa m lle a sweetie bepr r d; 80

-minimum and thus expedite the withdrawal of the rack from the deposited stack, as will be hereinafter explained. These rollers, however, are not necessarily used as, under ordinary conditions, the sheet metal floor will be sufiiciently smooth to withdraw readily from under, the deposited stack.

It has,heretof ore, been the practice to use four horses for pulling the harvesting andbinding mechanism such as-ordinarily used.

As hereinbefore stated, the use of the stack forming machine constituting the present invention, obviates the necessity of employing a binder and, consequently, the harvesting mechanism can be drawn by three horses. The fourth-horse can be used in connection with an additional one for draw ing thestack forming machine constituting the present invention. All of the horses, to wit, those drawing the harvesting mechanism, and those drawing the stack forming) machine, are driven by a person seated on the ham-ester, the lines leading to the horses in front of the stack forming machine, being extended through a guide arm extending laterally from one of the front standards 10.

Racks or brackets 51 are extended in- 'wardly from the upper ends of the stand.

ards 10 and 14 at one side of the machine and serve to support a roll of canvas or other protecting material such asindicated at 52. A supplemental post 53 having an additional bracket 54 can be located between the standards 10 and ll for holding the roll 52 at an intermediate point.

' As hereinbefore stated, under normal conditions the runners are held against the lower sides of the beams 1 by the flexible connections 32 and 33, said connections-beingheld taut by the dog 9 engaging the tooth 8. Furthermore the gate 41 is held yieldingly against the posts 36 and the guide arms are extended upwardly closeto the front end portions of the straps 23 while the central arm 28 is extended upwardly within the front end portion of the slot 4. An elevator is extended upwardly from one'sidc of the harvester and overhangs the floor of the raclr, this elevator being so located as toreceive the out grain and carry 2 it upwardly so that the grain will be discharged onto the raclgbetween the side walls This operation takes place during the forward movement of the harvester and of the stack forming'machine which consti-v tutes the present invention. As the grain is deposited on f the rack, a manwho is located on the rack, distributes the grain over the floor of the rack sothat the grain ultimately becomes piled upon the rack andw .between the walls 45 to a desired height.

After a sufficient amount of' grain has thus been accumulated, the rOll 52 is removed from the brackets 51 and 54 and spread out over the grain, the edge portionsof the protecting fabric constituting the roll being anchored to the endsand sides of the stack of grain in any preferred manner. After the protecting fabric. has been placed in po-- .sition, the operator depresses one end of the, .dog 9, thus releasing the tooth 8 and per mitting shaft 5 to rotate, This rotation will occur promptly, the weight of the run- =ners 25, the floor 26, and the load upon the fioor,.serving to cause the rack to gravitate :to the ground. As the rear end of the rack is not provided with any supporting springs such as have beenindicated at 35, said rear end of the rack will drop promptly onto the ground, the spring rods 46 striking the ground and flexing under the Weight to which they are subjected. Simultaneously with the downward movement of the lack,

the elongated intermediate" arm '6 on' shaft 5 swings rearwardly and pulls on the flexible connection 43 which, in turn, swings the gate 41 rearwardly and upwardly to open position and against the stress of its springs 42. This operation of the gate is effected by the weight of the load moving downwardly and which obviously causes the connections 32 and 83-to pull on arms 7 and thus rotate shaft .5 so as to swing the arm'6 rearwardly.

In order to'produce a period of rest for the stack immediately subsequent to its gravitation to'its lowermost position and prior to the withdrawal of the rack therefrom, the elongated guide straps 23 and the slot 4: have been provided Thus it will be seen that as soonas the .rear end portion of the rackstrikes the ground, the main frame of the machine will continue to move forward while the rac'k'will remain stationary until the rear wall of slot 4 comes against the arm 28 and the rear ends of the guide straps 23 come-against the arms 24. At this time the'rackwill bestarted forward suddenly with the moving main frame and the rearwardly diverging walls of the rack will move forwardly away from the sides of the stack while the smoothbottom or floor 26 will slide from under the stack. Simultaneously with this operation, the V-shaped member 47 or 48, or both of them, will withdraw from, the stack, thus leaving a continuous'air space under the stack, this withdrawal being rendered possible in an eflicie'nt manner by reason of the fact that the members 47 and 48-aregradu'ally reduced in transverse area toward their rear ends. As soon as the rack passesfrom under the de-. posited stack, the operator pushes forward, on the intermediate arm: 6 until the tooth S again becomes engaged by the-dog 9.' This j rotation of shaft5, means; of arm 6 results.

in the connections 32 and 33 pulling the rack upwardly so as to bring its runners'against the lower sides of the side beams 1 and in releasing gate 41 so that'its springs will re- 5 turn the gate to closed position. Thus the machine becomes reset and the foregoing operation can be repeated.

Importance isattached to the fact that during the dumping operation the rear end 1 of the rack first drops and, as soon as the flexible rods 46 strike the ground, the front end of the rack likewise moves downwardly against the stress of springs 35. Thus the sudden forward movement of. the stack 5 which would ordinarily be produced when the rack is brought to a sudden stop, is offset and the stack, when the rack is dropped and momentarily held stationary, remains intact,

p and will not fall forwardly. Furthermore by having the side walls diverging rear- .wardly and by having the central air space forming members with sides converging rearwardly, the rack will withdraw from the stackwithout pulling it to pieces.

It has been found that by using a machine such as herein described, the grain can be harvested with practically no loss and, at

the same time, with a saving of the cost oftwine. such as-commonlv used. When the stacks are left in the field, they-remain th0r oughly ventilated and can be subsequently that purpose.

It will be noted that the flexible connec-= readily removed by'a machine provided for tion 28 extends downwardly and forwardly 7 from the arm 28. Thus it will be seen that during the independent forward movement of the main structure while the rack is in contact with the ground, this ooimectibn will 40 pull downwardly on the arm 28 and cause the front end of the rack to swing downwardly against the action of the springs 35. As shown in the drawings the rearward movement of the arms 6 and 7 can be limited by chains,.cables, or other flexible ele-- 575 tween the-rack and main structure whereby a momentary forward movement of the main structure is of the rack.

2-; Amachine for forming stacks of grain,

including a'imovably supported main struc ture, a rack, means connected to the end portions of the rack for holding it normally in raised position,.;yielding connections between the front end of the rack and permitted independently .themain structure, and means for successively depositing the back and front ends of the rack upon the ground.

3. A machine for forming stacks of grain, including a movably supported main structure, a rack, means for holding the rack normally elevated, means for releasing the holding means to deposit the rack upon the ground, and yielding means for retarding the gravitation of the front end of the rack.-

4. A machine for forming stacks of grain, including a movably supported main structure, a rack, means ;for supporting the rack in raised position, said rack, when released, being adapted to gravitate into contact with the ground, and slidable connections between the rack and main structure whereby a momentary forward movement of the main structure independently of the rack is permitted subsequent to the gravitation of the rack.

permitting gravitation of the rack into contact with the ground, means for-retarding the gravitation of the front end'of the rack and means for permitting a momentary'halt in the forward movement of the rack during the gravitation of said rack and during the forward movement of the main structure.

6. stack forming machine including a movably supported main structure, a longit'udinally slottedplatform, guide members.

upon the sides of the structure, runners, a

floor connecting the runners, said runners and floor constituting a rack, means for holdingthe rackvin elevated position, and arms upstanding from the rack and slidably mounted within theslot and guides respectively.;'

7. A stack forming machine including a movably supported main structure, a longitudinally slotted platform, guide members upon the'sides of thestructure', runners, a

' floor connectingthe runners, said runners and floor constltuting a rack, means for holding therack in elevated position, arms upstanding from the rack and slidably mounted within the slot and guides respectively, and flexible means connecting one of the arms to/the' front end of the main structure for limiting the movement of the rack in onev dir ntion relative to said structure.

8.,A stazlr forming machine including a movably supported main structure, a platform, guide members upon the sides of the structure, runners, cffloor connecting the runners, sai d runners and floor constituting a rack, means for holding the rack in elevated position, and cooperating means upon the rackand main structure for depressing the fowa'rd end of the rackduring the dischargeof the load therefrom.

Tics I 9. A stack forming machine including a movably supported main structurewa platform, runners, a floor connecting the runners and cooperating-therewith to form a rack, means for yieldingly supporting the front end portion of the rack, means for supporting the rear end portionof the rack, a gate closing the space above-the rear end portion of the rack, and means operated by the release of the rack for opening the gate during the downward movement of the rack relative to the main structure.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

DAVID M. GRAHAM.

Witnesses;

SELINA WILLSON,

I. E. SIMPSON.

\ flatten efi trifle patent may be obtained for five cent: each,by.addressing the Commissioner of fatente.

Washington, D. G. 

